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What do you know about over-exercising

Sounds like a complete joke, right? Why would you ever end up over-exercising? For some people, it takes everything in them to get to the gym and just make it through a workout, much less enjoy it. For me? It takes everything in me not to workout on a day to day basis. I plan my schedules and choose wake up calls based on my workout for the day. I don’t not do things because I need to get a workout in, but I do try to schedule a workout in at a different time.

I thought my body was a champ and only needed one rest day a week. I thought I was feeding it the nutrition it needed to keep going. I thought I was doing everything right. But, I wasn’t. In fact, I missed out on a lot of signs.

When I first had pain in my foot, I should have stopped running. Unfortunately, I didn’t because I enjoy it, feel great after it, and knew I was training for a race in a few weeks.

When I firststarted feeling more tired after workouts, I should have stopped, but I didn’t. I might take it easy the rest of the night, though.

When I first started losing motivation, I should have thought about why.

Unfortunately, I didn’t do any of the above, leading me to this topic.

These are all simple signs that you could totally be missing. In fact, I did. I used to not take any rest days, and it wasn’t until this year that I started taking them once a week. I have become better at listening to my body, but still have a hard time taking the measures to do what it actually is telling me, like I mentioned above. It took until a really bad run the other day, and a really bad night after, to finally listen.

1. Instead of gaining energy, you are completely exhausted– I laid on the couch for 2 hours after my run without being able to get up. I was completely wiped out; actually felt like I ran a half marathon instead of 4 miles!

2. You sleep too much, or aren’t sleeping enough– I went to bed by 9 on Tuesday, and didn’t wake up until 6:15. I never need that much sleep, but I was done for and couldn’t stay away on Tuesday. Typically, I aim for bed at 10 and a wake up at 5:30, but neither of those have been happening lately. It’s been closer to 9:30 to 6:30/7 lately.

3. You have heavy legs– Not just my legs, everything. My 4 mile run should have been a breeze, but it wasn’t. I felt like I wasn’t moving, and 4 miles is a (relatively) easy mileage day for me. Pretty much every part of me had to hurt for me to realize something wasn’t right.

4. Sore for days– I have been feeling more achy than I usually do (not necessarily sore), and have done workouts that shouldn’t leave me sore, leave me sore. I’ve also noticed my strength for workouts has decreased, as in it’s harder to lift what I typically do easily.

5. You feel unmotivated– Motivation is key for workouts, and even people who love it still need some. My motivation has gone out the window. I have been doing the workouts, but just because I have a schedule saying I need to. I haven’t really enjoyed them, and have thought many times about cuddling up with a book instead of working out after school. However, I don’t do this, and this would be why choosing to take time off is just plain hard.

6. You are unhappy, or more moody– I wouldn’t say I am moody or unhappy, at all. I have a great life, and love my little family at home. The only thing making me unhappy was knowing something was wrong and what I needed to do to fix it!

Looking at everything I just wrote, it is so ridiculous that I missed all of these signs earlier, when an extra day of rest may have been all I needed. Sometimes our bodies just need a break to get back to normal, which is ok! No one says you have to be go-go-go all the time. It’s ok to take a break. In fact, it helps your body more than hurts it. What I do for workouts in a week is not like anyone else. What my body takes as too much may be barely what anyone else does (like a marathoner, ultramarathoner, ironman, etc), or way more than someone else. Each of our bodies are different, and we need to listen to ourselves. Looking at the above symptoms and saying yes to one or two isn’t likely meaning you are overtraining. You need to be serious with yourself, and do what you think your body needs. I chose to take off the remainder of the week from working out (since Tuesday), run my race on Saturday (The Color Run, which I will take easy and have fun), and see where I am then. It’s really unlike me to take this many days off, especially since I do have a race in a few weeks, but I am confident this will only make me better. Can’t run a car on empty, right? Well, the same is true to our bodies, and right now, I’m on empty!

Maybe you’ve never felt like this, or maybe you have. Maybe you learned something new today! It won’t be easy for me to go without working out, but I am itching for the motivation to come back, the runs to be easy, and me to enjoy it again! If it takes a few days off to do this, it’s well worth it! Now if you excuse me, I’m off to take it easy on the couch!

Side note: I don’t plan on being a lazy person for the next few days. I will continue with all my daily functions, but won’t add intense workouts onto it.

How about you? Is it easy to listen to your body?

How many rest days do you take a week?

Ever had this happen to you?

I am not a doctor, nor do I claim to be one. These are all things happening to my body, so I’m doing something about it. Remember, we are all different, so please don’t judge yourself based on me! 🙂

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Whoever says it’s never happened to them – I don’t believe it. I think at some point in your life, you’ll experience over exercising. It happens. Does it mean you’re a horrible, uneducated person – absolutely not! Making mistakes (if you can even call it that) happens – is common. No one person is perfect, and no one can go days without rest if they try to persuade themselves that they can. Before being diagnosed with HA, I typically had one solid day of rest and another day of light activity – walkingJessie recently posted…9 hours and I feel great

I’m definitely guilty of over exercising. I’m the first to admit it. It’s hard to monitor something you really love. It’s funny though, outside of the blog world, it’s a lot more obvious to recognize the signs. However, in the blog world I feel like there are a lot of people who do it which is why it feels normal to try and do as much as we do. I know my legs felt awful and I slept awful last week because I racked up higher mileage than my body was ready for so I cut back this week. After this weekend, I’m not going to run for a bit and let myself fully recover. Someone told me recently that the time off from working out is actually more important than the time spent for an athlete and it really resonated with me so I try to keep that in mind when I’m tempted to do more than I can handle!Sarah @pickyrunner recently posted…New England Bound

it’s crazy how caught up we get in the blogging world with thinking it is normal or average to work out 6 days a week…even five. when i tell most of my friends how often i work out they are like, “why on earth so much?” and it’s true! we have such skewed perceptions and thinking that one rest day a week is enough (not saying it can’t be enough but often it’s not) just isn’t the case for everyone. good to have this reminder and i love that you’re listening to how your body is reacting.molly @ heart, sole & cereal recently posted…feeling funky

I completely understand how you feel. Rest days are really hard for me to take too, but I know my body needs it. I usually take one rest day a week, but some weeks I have to take more. I have gotten better to listening to my body over time, but it’s still hard.

Great post. We’ve all been there – whether we admit it or not! You make exercise a part of your daily routine because you love it and want to…but it’s so important to listen to your body! Rest day(s) are just as important as the days you workout! Sometimes you really have to remind yourself of that – I have to all the time!
-Sammy @ http://www.peaceandloveandicecream.comSammy @ Peace Love and Ice Cream recently posted…WOD – October 9, 2013

Thanks for this! I’ve found my body works best when I take 2 (sometimes 3) rest days a week. There are weeks when I work out 6 days, but I usually get super tired from it! It’s hard to listen more to your body and less to what you think you SHOULD be doing!Kelly @ Kelly Runs for Food recently posted…Weekday Fails and Confessions

Good for you! I think it’s easy for people to fall into this trap and if you don’t notice it soon enough, sometimes you can do serious damage to your body (like stress fractures).

I usually use motivation as my main indicator – I LOVE to run, so if there are days when I just really don’t feel like doing it, I take it as a sign that my body just needs a break and I take it. The next run always feels that much better because of it.Logan @ Mountains and Miles recently posted…Weekly Recap 9/23-9-29 and 9/30-10/6

That’s really what I need to start doing. I think I just got caught up in making sure all of my runs happened and cross training and everything for my race. I am more than excited for it to be over haha I get like this with any training plan though

I typically rest on Sundays, and I do absolutely nothing on that day! I lay and watch tv, it helps so I’m ready for the week. Although I did notice that since I’ve been taking this Pilates class this semester I have been sleeping more, I am just more tired all the time. And this could what pushes me other the edge. It could be what’s pushing me over the edge into over doing it. Great Post!! I couldn’t figure out what’s been going on with me, now I think I may know 🙂Chelsea @ A Fit LittleOne recently posted…I’m Legitimately Crazy, I Know

Well said!! This is soo soo important to be aware of. I’m glad you’re being smart and taking a break. This should be something you love and if you need a break to feel that love again, then for heaven’s sake, take a break! Good luck, Heather!! 🙂Alyssa @ See This Girl Run recently posted…It’s Recipe Time!

YES, REST! You know my battles with over exercise and the effects it’s had on my body. It’s good that you did recognize the signs when you did! I’m still struggling with cutting back on my fitness but rest is just as good for your body as working out is if not more important. Especially for us women 🙂Giselle Schroer Schroer recently posted…Giveaways and Deals!

It’s partly because of your posts and a few others on HA that I have really begun looking into my workouts and figuring out what’s going on. I don’t want to risk not getting my period when I go off the pill just for some crazy workouts now. Obviously I don’t know what’s going to go on down the road, but I am trying to learn what my body needs now in an effort to prevent that from happening.

Excess exercise was my ED. I also did the binge and purge thing, but my way of punishing my body was ALWAYS with excess exercise. Im a soccer player, so I would have a 2 hour practice, then go home and run some more. I would refuse to come off the field if I had any kind of injury. I was sick for 3 months straight during soccer season because I wouldn’t skip a practice or a game. So ya, me and over exercising are quite familiar with each other 🙂 I currently take 1 or 2 rest days a week, depending on how my body feels. And ya, rest days are still tough for me, but it’s all a learning experience. I’m trying to listen to my body more and my dumb brain less (because my brain just thinks I’ll get fat if I skip a workout – definitely NOT what my body is telling me!)Kat recently posted…Fitness Thursday: Bashing Miley

So glad to hear you are learning to listen to your body and telling your brain to stop! It is a hard and vicious cycle to fall into, but our bodies are much happier when we are in tune with what it needs.

This is a great post Heather! I typically workout 5 days a week for about an hour each and take 2 rest days. Sometimes I do longer workouts and sometimes it really gets to me. This happened to me a few months back. After I was done doing 2 hours of intense cardio and strength, I came home and was totally wiped. For the rest of the day, I was exhausted, out of it and could barely think straight. That’s when I knew I pushed myself too much, so the next few days after that I scaled back my workouts quite a bit. Listening to your body is SO important!Holly @ EatGreatBEGreat recently posted…Apple Crumble Pie

That has happened to me too, and I realized that just because other people can go run 10 miles, then do body pump, and come back for kickboxing doesn’t mean I can do it. I need to just be happy with what I get in, and quit comparing or else the same thing happens to me and I’m out of it for the day- the complete opposite that should happen!

Awesome post! It’s easy to forget that it is possible to overdo it at the gym, especially for us healthy living bloggers. Our bodies aren’t meant to be stressed to the extreme everyday and off days are much needed!Becky @ Olives n Wine recently posted…Body Image and Pregnancy

I think it happens often where we get to this place in workouts where we start seeing results and want to keep going without rest, which actually just hurts rather than helps. I know now that I have to give myself rest days if I want to keep my sanity and my health. Great perspective on all of that!Ang @ Nutty for Life recently posted…Coffee Date

I think this is such a great post! Sadly this has happened to me before to the point where I ended up getting a stress fracture in my leg and was in a boot for a month! Your body needs rest, without it you are almost being conterproductive. Resting is hard for me but then I remember I don’t want to end up in a boot again..

Great post, girl! We’re constantly being told that exercise is good for our health, and we forget about the fact that even good things done in excess can be detrimental. I’ve definitely experienced the negative effects that come with overexercising before, which is why I cut back on the intensity and frequency of my workouts. I used to think that a workout wasn’t a workout unless my heart was racing and I was dripping sweat, but now I just prefer being active on a regular basis, and I have to say that I’ve never looked or felt better.Amanda @ .running with spoons. recently posted…. thinking out loud #48 .

Yes, it’s so true that good things in excess are bad for you, but a lot of times we choose to ignore that. Being active all day is better than getting a hard core workout in once a day. It’s just better to figure out what works for you and go with it!

This totally happened to me last week, but I also felt like I was getting a cold as well but I kept pushing, so hard that I just felt awful on Monday. I decided to take this week off to rest and by wednesday I was feeling better and even better today. It was so hard for me to just rest, but I definitely learned I need to listen to my body more.Alicia recently posted…Yoga Rave and Pink Hair for Hope

I think over-exercising is actually really common. When following a plan I think lots of people often just carry on. ‘It says it on the plan, therefore I must be able to do it!’ I usually run/cross-train six days a week with core work on three of those days as well and one complete day off. I’m guilty of sleeping for a few hours after poor long runs though to recharge as I clearly wasn’t rested enough on those days before the run.Mary recently posted…Marathon legs

You are so right, and that’s what I was doing. I make schedules and basically if I miss a day, I can’t “make it up” in a sense because then it ruins the other days, so I always do it without really listening to what I should be doing.

Funny you bring this up- I just posted about overexercising today! I think we all need a break- a refresher! PS- Love your wedding pic on the side!emma @ a mom runs this town recently posted…A Change of Heart

It’s funny because people would consider the amount of exercise I do to be OVER EXERCISING except I don’t experience any of these symptoms! In fact, I am THRILLED after work outs and they give me so much energy to keep on trucking throughout the entire day! So I guess, the amount I do every single day works for me… Even though it’s for an absurd amount of time, LOL!GiGi Eats Celebrities recently posted…This One Takes The Cake

I’m glad that you’re noticing these signs, Heather, AND, most importantly, that you’re acting on the fact that your body needs more rest.
I can really relate to this – though my signs/symptoms are pretty severe – and after my race in a week I’m taking a serious break from running and intense workouts….if you ever want to chat about this, you should email me!Danica @ It’s Progression recently posted…October Sunrise

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Disclaimer

I am not a certified personal trainer, nor am I a nutritionst. What I post on my blog is a reflection of the life I live. I also do not post everything I eat. Please consult with your doctor before beginning an exercise program.